The recent warm weather has been welcomed by SBCC baseball coach Jeff Walker.
After a slow start, the Vaqueros have won 11 of their last 13 games and eight in row.
“The main reason is because our biggest opponent at the beginning of the year was El Niño, which was actually ranked No. 1 in our preseason poll,” Walker cracked at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.
The rain that’s associated with an El Niño weather pattern kept the Vaqueros off … [Read more...]

First-year Santa Barbara High baseball coach Donny Warrecker wasn’t sure he’d have an experienced catcher at the start of the season.
His worries were eased by the quick recovery of Samsun Keithley.
Keithley will be behind the plate this week when the Dons twice play rival San Marcos with a shot at winning the Channel League title at stake.
Going into the week, Santa Barbara (6-4) was a half-game behind Dos Pueblos (6-3). The Chargers play three games against Ventura this week.
“This … [Read more...]

BY BLAKE DORFMAN, PRESIDIOSPORTS.COM
Marty Davis stood at the podium at last week's Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table luncheon and boldly proclaimed that his UCSB men's tennis team would win the Big West tournament despite being seeded fourth.
Lesson: Don't doubt Marty Davis.
The Gauchos won the tourney with a 4-2 win over No. 2 seed UC Irvine Sunday morning, becoming back-to-back-to-back-to-back conference champs and earn another NCAA bid. The Gauchos had lost to Irvine 6-1 earlier in … [Read more...]

BY BLAKE DORFMAN, PRESIDIOSPORTS.COM
Jerry Harwin has accomplished a lot in his 97 years on earth, and he fittingly received a standing ovation at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon.
He is, after all, one of the Round Table’s original knights.
Harwin, Bill Bertka and the late Caesar Uyesaka founded the SBART in 1968, and Harwin’s list of accomplishments and good deeds in the local athletic community took current president Rick Wilson a full two minutes to rattle … [Read more...]

BY BLAKE DORFMAN, PRESIDIOSPORTS.COM
Three special awards, nine checks to hand out and 21 teams to catch up on.
There wasn’t a partridge in a pear tree at Harry’s for Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon, but after missing a week due to Spring Break, it seemed like everything else was there.
The checks were doled out by Jim Sloan of the Santa Barbara Athletic Association, a longtime local running organization which puts on races and helps support local scholastic … [Read more...]

BY BLAKE DORFMAN, PRESIDIOSPORTS.COM
Like a car without a mechanic, an athlete just can't keep going without the help of an athletic trainer every now and then. Trainers sit on the sidelines dutifully in anticipation of an injury, major or minor, and they're always there before and after games and practices to ice, tape and stretch.
Local trainers just don't get the recognition they deserve, so the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table did its part to support this deserving bunch by inviting … [Read more...]

By BLAKE DORFMAN, PRESIDIOSPORTS.COM
Everyone was noticeably excited at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Luncheon, and it wasn’t just because of the cheese enchiladas.
Roger Kuntz says he is more excited about coaching this year’s San Marcos boys volleyball season this year than he’s ever been in 18 years of coaching.
The trio of senior captains he brought to Harry’s is a big reason. Six-foot-3 senior Andrew Grimes is a Division-I caliber recruit, 6-4 setter Erik Holliday is … [Read more...]

BY BLAKE DORFMAN, PRESIDIOSPORTS.COM
Sometimes we forget what a small town we live in.
Monday's Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table luncheon was a reminder, because it seemed like nearly everyone in the Ranchero Room crowd was connected in some way.
Carpinteria boys basketball coach John Ward brought along his son Johnny, a former Bishop Diego hoopster who now serves as his dad's assistant coach. UCSB swimming coachGregg Wilson, who was sitting at the next table over, was Johnny's T-Ball … [Read more...]